Open Source Polygon Plonky3 Is Once Again the Fastest ZK Proving System

The latest open-source zero-knowledge (ZK) proving system from Polygon Labs, is now recognized as the fastest ZK proving system available - Plonky3 is a modular toolkit designed for developers to build custom ZK virtual machines (zkVMs) and zkEVMs, supporting a wide range of blockchain applications. The system is production-ready, audited, and licensed under MIT/Apache, making it freely accessible for developers and projects looking to leverage advanced cryptographic proofs for scalability and security on blockchain networks.

Key Ideas

Polygon Plonky3 has set a new industry benchmark by achieving over 2 million hashes per second on modern hardware, outperforming competitors like StarkWare’s Stwo system, which reached 500,000 hashes per second in similar tests. This leap in performance accelerates proof generation and verification, enabling more complex and frequent transactions at lower computational cost.
Plonky3’s modular design allows developers to tailor the proving system to their needs—optimizing for speed, proof size, or a balance of both. Its flexibility supports innovation in building scalable zkVMs and zkEVMs, and it has already been adopted by major projects such as SP1 and Valida. The open-source nature of Plonky3 encourages community-driven growth and rapid adoption across the blockchain ecosystem